Saudi BlackBerry ban to affect Messenger only-CITC

A ban on BlackBerry in Saudi Arabia will affect only its BlackBerry Messenger text messaging service but an August 6 deadline for its enforcement is final, a spokesman for the telecommunications regulator told Reuters on Wednesday.

“(The ban) is only for the Messenger. Negotiations are still going, the deadline is final,” said Sultan al-Malik from the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC).

CITC said on Tuesday it had informed the kingdom’s three mobile operators of a ban on a BlackBerry service, without specifying which one.